The rules of Council procedure are as set forth as follows.
(A) The Mayor shall preside at all Council meetings, but vote only in case of a tie. If, for any cause, the Mayor is absent and does not preside and a member of the Council is presiding, that member shall have the right to vote, but in case of a tie vote, the question shall be lost.
(B) At the first meeting of each Council, the members shall elect one of their number to act as the presiding officer in the event of the absence of the Mayor at subsequent meetings.
(C) In case of the absence of the City Clerk-Treasurer, the Mayor or the presiding officer shall appoint one of the members of the Council as Clerk-Treasurer Pro Tem. The member so appointed as Clerk-Treasurer Pro Tem shall have the right to vote on all questions, and shall serve as Clerk-Treasurer Pro Tem only for the particular meeting at which he or she was so appointed.
(D) At all meetings of the Council, the order of procedure shall be as follows:
(1) Roll call of members;
(2) Reading of records and proceedings of the previous meeting. When the records and proceedings have been corrected and approved by the Council, they shall be signed by the Mayor;
(3) Reports of various officers shall be submitted, accepted by vote of the Council, and filed with the City Clerk-Treasurer;
(4) The Mayor shall communicate to the Council anything he or she may deem of interest to the city;
(5) Reports of standing and special committees shall be submitted;
(6) Petitions, grievances, and remonstrances, as called for by the City Clerk-Treasurer, shall be submitted;
(7) Presentation of accounts;
(8) Motions;
(9) New business and communications; and
(10) Unfinished business.
(E) When a Council member, in presenting a motion, petition, or other matter, or in addressing the Mayor, is called to order, he or she shall immediately cease his or her presentation or address until it is decided whether he or she is in order or not, and if it is decided that he or she is in order, he or she shall be permitted to proceed.
(F) No Council member shall be permitted to speak irrelevantly to the question before the Council.
(G) Every motion shall be seconded by a member of the Council before a vote shall be taken thereon. All votes, except votes on the passage of an ordinance, shall be via voice. Upon the request of any Council member, the yeas and nays shall be taken and recorded by the City Clerk-Treasurer on any motion. All votes on the passage of an ordinance shall be taken by a call of the roll.
(H) When a motion or other proposition is under consideration, no motion shall be entertained, except to adjourn; to lay on the table; to commit; one to postpone; to amend; and a motion for the previous question. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and be put without debate. No proposition shall, under color of an amendment, be admitted which totally changes the subject matter under consideration. A motion for the previous question being made and seconded, the question shall be put without debate, and if the motion prevails, the main question shall be admitted after a call of the previous question, unless it is decided negatively.
(I) In the event any question of Council procedure shall arise which cannot be determined by the provisions of this section or other city ordinance, then such question shall be determined by Robert’s Rules of Order, an accepted manual of parliamentary law.
(J) The presiding officer shall keep order at all Council meetings.
(Prior Code, § 32.23) (Ord. 120.2, passed 5-3-1954) Penalty, see § 32.99
Cross-reference:
Public meetings, see Chapter 35